GB1588512A

GB1588512A - Weighing

Info

Publication number: GB1588512A
Application number: GB2878176A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: AUTOWEIGH WEIGHING MACHINES LT
Current assignee: AUTOWEIGH WEIGHING MACHINES LT
Priority date: 1977-07-11
Filing date: 1977-07-11
Publication date: 1981-04-23

Description

(54) WEIGHING (71) We, AUTOWEIGH (WEIGHING MACHINES) LIMITED of Siddal Hall Works, Siddal, Halifax in the county of York, a British Company, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following state ment:- The invention relates to weighing, and particularly but not exclusively to the weighing of barrels, kegs and other containers e.g. containing beer.

It is frequently desirable to weigh barrels such as beer barrels, for example for stocktaking purposes, but considerable problems exist in providing suitable apparatus, since such weighing frequently has to be carried out by one man in a confined space such as a cellar, and the weight of a full barrel of beer is such that it is extremely difficult for one man to lift it on to a weighing platform.

The invention provides apparatus for weighing beer barrels, livestock, bags of coins or like heavy and bulky articles, the apparatus comprising a support device having a base portion shaped to surround an article to be weighed on at least two sides, a lever mounted for pivotal movement above the article, and means for attaching the article to the lever so that the lever can be used to lift the article with a mechanical advantage in favour of the person operating the lever, the lever having attached thereto means for indicating the weight of an article lifted by the lever.

The lever may be pivoted about a point lying between its ends, the means for attaching the article being at one of the ends of the lever and the distance from the said one end to the pivot point being less than the distance from the pivot point to the other end of the lever.

The lever may be provided with a spring balance or other weighing device from which the article can be suspended.

The weighing apparatus may be provided with locking means operable to lock the lever in position after the lever has been pivoted to raise an article. The locking means may comprise a locking hook or pin operable to lock the lever to the support device.

The support device may comprise a support frame. The frame may comprise portions which can be positioned one at each side of an article to be weighed, and means interconnecting the upper portions, the lever being pivoted on the interconnecting means.

The support frame may be collapsible for ease of storage or transportation.

The mechanical advantage in favour of the person operating the lever is preferably greater than ten and may be greater than twenty. The support device may be mounted on wheels and a brake may be provided acting on at least one of the wheels.

The apparatus may have a flexible elongate member for use in attaching an article to the lever, the flexible elongate member being adjustable in length.

Preferably the flexible elongate member is a chain, the chain being aciiustal;le in length by means of a hook operable to engage the chain to take up slack in the chain.

The apparatus may have means to hold the lever in a loading position while the article to be weighed is attached to the lever.

By way of example, specific embodiments of weighing apparatus according to the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment of weighing apparatus according to the invention, showing a beer barrel in the lifted position; Figure 2 is a view in the direction of arrow A of Figure 1, with the barrel and spring balance omitted; Fibure 3 is a section on the line A-A of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side view of another embodiment of weighing apparatus, showing a beer barrel in the lifted position; Figure 5 is a side elevation of the lower part of the support device of the apparatus shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a plan view of the part shown in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a side view of a middle portion of the support device of the apparatus shown in Figure 4;; Figure 8 is a side view of the upper part of the support device of the apparatus shown in Figure 4; Figure 9 is a side view of the lever of the apparatus shown in Figure 4; and Figure 10 is a view of an alternative attachment chain.

The device shown in Figures 1 to 3 comprise a support frame 10, a lifting lever 11, a spring balance 12 and attachment chains 13.

Frame 10 comprises a pair of uprights 14.

The uprights are interconnected at their lower ends by a cross-member 15 and each upright has a support foot in the form of a bar 16. An inclined support strut 17 connects each foot 16 to its associated upright 14.

The upper ends of the uprights 14 are also interconnected, by a triangular frame comprising a cross-member 18 and two members 19 inclined to the vertical. A pair of short booms 20 project horizontally from the apex of the triangle, each boom being supported by an inclined support strut 21 connecting the free end of the boom to one of the members 19. A pivot pin 22 is passed through the free ends of the booms 20 and the lever 11 is pivotally mounted on this pin 22.

The pivot pin 22 is very close to one end 23 of the lever 11. Connected to this end 23 of the lever 11 is the spring balance 12. The chains 13 are secured to a ring 24 on the spring loaded plunger of the spring balance and each chain 13 has a hook 25 at its lower end for hooking into one of the hand-holes in the rim of a beer barrel 26.

The portion of the lever 11 lying between the pivot pin 22 and the other end 24 of the lever is considerably longer than the portion lying between the pivot pin 22 and the end 23, and is cranked at 27 to reduce the height of the eno 24 above the ground.

In use the frame 10 is moved up to a barrel such as the barrel 26 until the barrel lies in the bay defined by the feet 16 and cross member 15. The hooks 25 are then inserted in the hand-holds in the barrel and a down ward pull is exerted on the end 24 of the lever 11 to lift the barrel clear of the ground.

A locking hook 28 pivoted on the cross member 18 is then hooked over the lower part of the lever and the hook prevents the lever from returning to its original position.

The lever 11 can thus be released and the barrel will remain in the raised position shown in Figure 1. The weight of the barrel can be read off on the spring balance 12, the hook 28 can be unhooked from the lever and the barrel can be lowered again, before the apparatus is moved on to weigh the next barrel.

The lever 11 may be made removable from the support frame 10 and the support frame 10 may be collapsible, to facilitate storage or transportation of the apparatus.

The support frame shown in the drawings is of welded steel construction, but it is possible for the frame to be constructed of members which fit together with releasable spigot and socket interconnections. The hook 28 may be replaced by some other form of locking device.

Turning now to Figures 4 to 9, in this embodiment there is a single central upright support pillar comprising a lower section 30, a middle section 31, and an upper section 32. At the bottom of the section 30, there is a short support leg 33, and two further support legs 34 which each project from the portion 30 at an obtuse angle to the shorter leg 33 and then extend parallel to the leg 33.

The legs 34 thus define a space 35 in which a barrel may stand before weighing. An inclined support strut 36 is welded between the portion 30 and the short support leg 33.

At the upper end of the portion 30 there is a spigot 37 on to which the portion 31 is fitted, the portion 31 having an internal socket to receive the spigot 37. At the upper end of the portion 31 there is a further spigot 38 which is located in a socket in the lower end of the upper portion 32.

Welded to the upper end of the portion 32 is a boom 39, which is supported by a further strut 40 welded between the boom and the portion 32. At the free end of the boom 39, on its upper face, a U-shaped bracket 41 is welded.

A lever 42 is obliquely cranked at 43 and at one end there is welded a portion 44 which is shaped to fit into the bracket 41.

The lever can be pivotally connected to the bracket by a pin passing through both arms of the bracket 41 and the portion 44.

At the free end of the portion 44 there is a ring 45 for attaching a spring balance 46.

The apparatus is used in a similar manner to the apparatus described in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 3, the lever 42 being depressed to lift a barrel 47 so that it can be weighed by the spring balance 46.

If desired a catch member 48 may be provided on the portion 32, for engagement with a pin 49 projecting from the lever 42, so that the barrel may be locked in the raised position while its weight is read. Alternatively the spring balance 46 may be positioned so that the person operating the device can read the spring balance while holding the lever 42 in the lower position.

The lower end of the lever 42 may be provided with a hand grip 50.

The apparatus may be readily dismantled for transport by withdrawing the pin which holds the lever 42 in position, and separating the three portions of the central support pillar.

When a barrel is not attached to the device, the weight of the lever 42 maintains the spring balance 46 in its highest position, and particularly when fitting the spring balance to smaller barrels, it may be necessary to hold the lever 42 in a raised position with one hand, while trying to attach the hooked rods 48a to the barrel with the other.

It is more convenient to be able to use two hands to attach the barrel, particularly when using the attachment chain described later with reference to Figure 10, and so a holding device is provided comprising a small wire stirrup 49a. The stirrup comprises a small C-shaped piece of wire, the free ends of the C each engaging in a hole in one side of the part 39. The stirrup can thus be pivoted from a position in which it lies flush with the part 39, to a raised position.

When it is desired to attach a keg, the lever 42 is raised and the stirrup 49a is then flicked up into a raised position in which it seats in the recess formed between the parts 42 and 44. In this position the stirrup supports the lever in the raised position while the keg is attached. The stirrup can then be flicked down again when it is desired to use the lever to raise the barrel.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments. For instance the support frames may be mounted on wheels to facilitate movement from one barrel to another. For instance the part shown in Figure 6 may have three castor-type wheels, one fitted at the free end of each of the legs 33 and 34, the wheel fitted to leg 33 having a foot operated brake.

Instead of using two chains or two hooked rods to secure a barrel to the device, a chain of the form shown in Figure 10 may be used.

The two ends of the chain 50 are attached to a ring 51 and two hooks 52 are slidable on the chain. A further hook 53 is attached to the ring 51. The hook 53 has a slot 54 therein. In use the ring 51 is attached to the spring balance and the two hooks 52 are hooked on to the rim of a barrel, at opposite sides of the barrel. Any slack in the chain is then taken up by pulling up one side 55 of the chain and fitting it into the slot 54. The slot 54 is shaped to receive and hold a link of the chain, the slot being too narrow for the link to slip through the bottom of the slot.

Any slack in the chain thus hangs in a loop between the hook 53 and the ring 51, the taut portion of the chain being supported at one end by the ring 51 and at the other and by the hook 53.

A chart may be provided with the device, listing the empty weights of various known makes of barrels, so that the weight of beer may be obtained by subtracting the weight of the empty barrel from the weight recorded on the spring balance. A chart may be provided which gives figures for converting weights into fluid measures, for example converting kilograms to pints. Alternatively the dial of the spring balance may carry a scale which is marked in fluid measures.

The spring balance may have a second, manually adjustable, pointer attached to the face thereof, so that when the main pointer has indicated a total weight, the adjustable pointer can be made to coincide with the main pointer and can then be moved back by an appropriate amount dependent on the empty weight of the barrel being used, so that the adjustable pointer will then indicate the correct amount of fluid in the barrel.

Alternatively the spring balance may have a second, manually rotatable, scale thereon identical to the main scale. An empty barrel can be weighed, and the second scale can be rotated to bring the zero marking on the second scale into registration with the weight of the empty barrel indicated on the main fixed scale. Weighing of filled barrels can then be carried out, the main scale giving a reading related to the total weight and the second scale giving a reading related to the weight of fluid only. If the weight of empty barrel is known, the zero on the second scale can be moved into registration with the correct weight on the fixed scale, without the need to weigh an empty barrel first.

Although the apparatus has been specially designed for weighing beer barrels, it may also be utilised for weighing any other heavy items which cannot conveniently be lifted onto a conventional weighing device. It may be used to weigh other containers and, for example, banks may find it useful for weighing heavy bags of money.

It may be utilised for the weighing of livestock.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. Apparatus for weighing beer barrels, livestock, bags of coins or like heavy and bulky articles, the apparatus comprising a support device having a base portion shaped to surround an article to be weighed on at least two sides, a lever mounted for pivotal movement above the article, and means for attaching the article to the lever so that the lever can be used to lift the article with a mechanical advantage in favour of the person operating the lever, the lever having attached thereto means for indicating the weight of an article lifted by the lever.

2. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, in which the lever is pivoted about a point lying between its ends, the means for attaching the article being at one of the ends of the lever and the distance from the said one end to the pivot point being less than the

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. the three portions of the central support pillar. When a barrel is not attached to the device, the weight of the lever 42 maintains the spring balance 46 in its highest position, and particularly when fitting the spring balance to smaller barrels, it may be necessary to hold the lever 42 in a raised position with one hand, while trying to attach the hooked rods 48a to the barrel with the other. It is more convenient to be able to use two hands to attach the barrel, particularly when using the attachment chain described later with reference to Figure 10, and so a holding device is provided comprising a small wire stirrup 49a. The stirrup comprises a small C-shaped piece of wire, the free ends of the C each engaging in a hole in one side of the part 39. The stirrup can thus be pivoted from a position in which it lies flush with the part 39, to a raised position. When it is desired to attach a keg, the lever 42 is raised and the stirrup 49a is then flicked up into a raised position in which it seats in the recess formed between the parts 42 and 44. In this position the stirrup supports the lever in the raised position while the keg is attached. The stirrup can then be flicked down again when it is desired to use the lever to raise the barrel. The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments. For instance the support frames may be mounted on wheels to facilitate movement from one barrel to another. For instance the part shown in Figure 6 may have three castor-type wheels, one fitted at the free end of each of the legs 33 and 34, the wheel fitted to leg 33 having a foot operated brake. Instead of using two chains or two hooked rods to secure a barrel to the device, a chain of the form shown in Figure 10 may be used. The two ends of the chain 50 are attached to a ring 51 and two hooks 52 are slidable on the chain. A further hook 53 is attached to the ring 51. The hook 53 has a slot 54 therein. In use the ring 51 is attached to the spring balance and the two hooks 52 are hooked on to the rim of a barrel, at opposite sides of the barrel. Any slack in the chain is then taken up by pulling up one side 55 of the chain and fitting it into the slot 54. The slot 54 is shaped to receive and hold a link of the chain, the slot being too narrow for the link to slip through the bottom of the slot. Any slack in the chain thus hangs in a loop between the hook 53 and the ring 51, the taut portion of the chain being supported at one end by the ring 51 and at the other and by the hook 53. A chart may be provided with the device, listing the empty weights of various known makes of barrels, so that the weight of beer may be obtained by subtracting the weight of the empty barrel from the weight recorded on the spring balance. A chart may be provided which gives figures for converting weights into fluid measures, for example converting kilograms to pints. Alternatively the dial of the spring balance may carry a scale which is marked in fluid measures. The spring balance may have a second, manually adjustable, pointer attached to the face thereof, so that when the main pointer has indicated a total weight, the adjustable pointer can be made to coincide with the main pointer and can then be moved back by an appropriate amount dependent on the empty weight of the barrel being used, so that the adjustable pointer will then indicate the correct amount of fluid in the barrel. Alternatively the spring balance may have a second, manually rotatable, scale thereon identical to the main scale. An empty barrel can be weighed, and the second scale can be rotated to bring the zero marking on the second scale into registration with the weight of the empty barrel indicated on the main fixed scale. Weighing of filled barrels can then be carried out, the main scale giving a reading related to the total weight and the second scale giving a reading related to the weight of fluid only. If the weight of empty barrel is known, the zero on the second scale can be moved into registration with the correct weight on the fixed scale, without the need to weigh an empty barrel first. Although the apparatus has been specially designed for weighing beer barrels, it may also be utilised for weighing any other heavy items which cannot conveniently be lifted onto a conventional weighing device. It may be used to weigh other containers and, for example, banks may find it useful for weighing heavy bags of money. It may be utilised for the weighing of livestock. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. Apparatus for weighing beer barrels, livestock, bags of coins or like heavy and bulky articles, the apparatus comprising a support device having a base portion shaped to surround an article to be weighed on at least two sides, a lever mounted for pivotal movement above the article, and means for attaching the article to the lever so that the lever can be used to lift the article with a mechanical advantage in favour of the person operating the lever, the lever having attached thereto means for indicating the weight of an article lifted by the lever.

distance from the pivot point to the other end of the lever.

3. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the lever is provided with a spring balance or other weighing device from which the article can be suspended.

4. Weighing apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, provided with locking means operable to lock the lever in position after the lever has been pivoted to raise an article.

5. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, in which the locking means comprise a locking hook or pin operable to lock the lever to the support device.

6. Weighing apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the support device comprises a support frame.

7. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, in which the frame comprises portions which can be positioned one on each side of an article to be weighed, and means interconnecting the portions, the lever being pivoted on the interconnecting means.

8. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 7, in which the support frame is collapsible for ease of storage or transportation.

9. Weighing apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the mechanical advantage in favour of the person operating the lever is greater than ten.

10. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 9, in which the mechanical advantage is greater than twenty.

11. Weighing apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the support device is mounted on wheels.

12. Weighing apparatus as claimed in any of of the preceding claims having a flexible elongate member for use in attaching an article to the lever, the flexible elongate member being adjustable in length.

13. Weighing apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, in which the flexible elongate member is a chain, the chain being adjustable in length by means of a hook operable to engage the chain to take up slack in the chain.

14. Weighing apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, having means to hold the lever in a loading position while the article to be weighed is attached to the lever.

15. Weighing apparatus as substantially herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, or Figures 4 to 9, or Figures 1 to 3 or 4 to 9 as s ified by Figure 10, of the accompanying drawings.